Transient Seepage Spreadsheet

Notes on Input Parameters

Introduction
These notes are intended to assist users of Excel spreadsheet:
Transient Response LJ
Specific reference is made to Version 1.01 of the spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet is intended for calculation of the transient response of groundwater in
a leaky confined aquifer which extends under a flood defence dike. In particular the
transient head at the toe of the dike can be determined and factors of safety against
uplift and seepage failure can be assessed. The method used to calculate transient
response of the aquifer follows Li H & Jiao JJ (2001), Tide-induced groundwater
fluctuations in a coastal leaky confined aquifer system extending under the sea, Water
Resources Research, Vol 37(5) p 1165-1171.
For input hydrographs of very long duration the solution tends to that of steady state
analyses such as the USACE method given in EM-1110-2-1913 Design and
Construction of Levees.

Warning
The spreadsheet is intended to calculate the head response to a transient hydrograph
such as a tide, storm surge or flood. A suitably conservative approach must be
adopted for the duration of the input hydrograph and other controlling parameters.
Failure to consider these factors adequately could lead to a catastrophic collapse of the
dike.

Aquifer Parameters
1. Coefficient of volume compressibility, mv.
This parameter has a major influence in the storativity (S) of the aquifer. The
larger the value of mv, the larger the value of S. Larger values of S generate
slower responses in the aquifer and lower maximum aquifer heads. Hence
small values of mv are more conservative with respect to aquifer heads than
large values.
Parameter mv is the inverse of the drained bulk modulus of the soil K. The bulk
modulus may be estimated from the drained Youngs Modulus E with an
assumed Poissons Ratio. For assumed isotropic elastic conditions:
K'

E'
31 2 '

E may determined from correlation with SPT or CPT data. Note that the
effective stress changes generated by the input hydrograph are likely to be
small and hence the stiffness values will be relatively high.

291973243.doc

Page 1 of 2

25/10/2015

Hydrograph Parameters
1. Amplitude of hydrograph, A
The hydrograph is treated as a cosine function in this spreadsheet. A cosine
function is fitted to the actual hydrograph on the first worksheet of the
spreadsheet.
The value of A would normally be the height from ground level at the toe of the
dike to the peak level of the actual hydrograph.
2. Time to reach peak, Tp
The value input for time to peak T p controls the period of the cosine function. It
is conservative to envelope the rising and peak sections of the actual
hydrograph. It may be necessary to check the sensitivity of stability results to
longer hydrographs. for example the value of T p may be increased by 50% or
100% to check sensitivity to the hydrograph duration.
3. Tidal efficiency. Te
This parameter relates to the response of the aquifer head upstream of the dike
to an instantaneous change of loading from the water above the foreshore.
This parameter is introduced in Li and Jiao (2001) but not explained in detail. A
conservative approach is to assume a value of 1.00 for this parameter unless
better data is available.

291973243.doc

Page 2 of 2

25/10/2015